


Past Participle

by IndeliblyBoxedIn



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Medical School, Nen (Hunter X Hunter), Past Sexual Abuse, Rating May Change, Student Leorio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndeliblyBoxedIn/pseuds/IndeliblyBoxedIn
Summary: Past cannot be changed The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited or erased; it can only be accepted.Leorio almost has his life together.He has a Hunter's license, an internship, a degree in-progress, and a pretty awesome boyfriend if you don't mind.Things come crashing down when a night out reveals part of Kurapika's darker past that refuses to stay buried.
Relationships: Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	Past Participle

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long time ago on a phone don't judge me please

"Hey! Leo!" Leorio glanced up confusedly at the crowded hallway and tried to make out who might be calling him. "Rio!"

"Yo!" Leorio smiled and waved as he saw his friend headed towards him, weaving through the anxious 3rd year medical students in the hall. 

"You ready for this? Last exam of the semester!" Demetri smiled and held out his hand. Leorio rolled his eyes and waved the hand out of his face.

"I don't know- Pietro finished his exams yesterday, he said this one was the worst, and I'm really stressed-" he looked around at the other hopefuls frantically running through notecards or their phones. "Even the professor said this would be the hardest one. I mean, cumulative? Really?" 

“It is for our practical placements, maybe we’ll have to repeat the year.” Pietro cut in, stone faced.

Leorio couldn't banish the look of disbelief before his classmate saw it and laughed.

"Oh come on man! You've got the highest grades of our year! You could flunk this and still pass!" Demetri interrupted.

"Not with a license." Leorio elbowed his friend playfully. "I don't know how you don't have any material to look over. I made about a textbook's worth of notecards last night." 

"And every night since the semester began." The shorter male sipped his coffee. "You do you, man." He waved the offer of some of the (very colorful) note cards from his friend's ever-present briefcase and watched the many students anxiously pacing while hoping to absorb any more information last minute. Demetri shrugged and leaned back against the wall, watching his friend go by. Taking a glance up at the clock he did a double take.

"Man- we got almost a half hour until the test. You're paranoid. It'll be fine."

Leorio paused in his pacing to raise an eyebrow.

"I am not! Y-you're too relaxed!"

"Nah." A voice came from behind. "You're a freaking basket case."

Demetri smiled.

"Lars!" The man in question raised a hand in a half-wave.

"Hey, Lars." Leorio greeted. "Are you ready?"

"You know it!" The redhead grinned widely. "Gum?" He offered a pack. Demetri held up his coffee in answer while Leorio almost snatched one and practically shoved it in his mouth.

"Might calm my nerves." He muttered, returning to his notes, flipping so quickly that the colors blurred. Demetri and Lars exchanged a look.

"Leorio- you so need to get laid." Lars said, trying to come off playful and failing to get a laugh out of his taller friend. "Seriously dude- you're way too uptight." He hooked an arm around the other's neck and ruffled his hair as Leorio snorted in annoyance. "How about after this test we all go crazy? Guys night. You, me, Demitri and Pietro to celebrate the end of finals. We'll head to that new bar, my buddy works there and can get us in. He says it's pretty sweet, lots of nice ladies..."

Leorio pulled away and straightened himself up, flipping through his many notecards again.

"No, thanks. Pika would hate me if I brought home a girl." He let out a small chuckle at the thought.

At that moment the doors opened and the students from the exam before them hurried to escape from the dead air inside.

"I'm gonna head in." Leorio declared, picking up his things and pushing through the crowd. It was Lars who looked at the clock this time.

"There's 25 minutes!"

Demetri shrugged and watched their friend leave. There was a moment of silence, broken only by the frantic rustling of papers.

"You're not wrong." Demetri said suddenly.

Lars started.

"What?"

"He needs to get laid."

The two erupted in laughter, everything amusing in the pre-test anxiety. The remaining students in the hall glared in annoyance before returning to their last minute cramming. Lars huffed a bit in amusement.

"So... who is Pika?" Demetri furrowed his brows lightly at the redhead. "Did our boy get a girlfriend and not tell me? Cause if he did-"

"Oh, right, I forgot you weren't here that time, it was Pietro." The brunette cut the rant short. "Pika is Leo's boyfriend." Lars looked slightly surprised, but was over it quickly.

"Huh, didn't know he swung that way-"

"I think he's bi-" Demetri interrupted. His friend smacked him. 

"Anyway, I had no clue he even had a boyfriend. Good for him. Nice guy? What's he look like?"

"Damn! Slow down!" Demetri pushed his friend back a pace. "You're like a damn girl with the gossip!" Lars pushed back, smoothing his ruffled hair.

"What can I say? You want a lady, you gotta know what they like." Demetri sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Like you know that. Yes, he's very nice. Extremely polite and more than a little formal. He's got an accent, but I'm not sure where from. Appearance-wise..." the student paused in thought. "Small, I guess. Real skinny, but it works for him. He's pretty cute for a guy, kinda looks like a girl- see," Demetri flapped a hand up by his face. "He's got this blonde hair, blue eyes thing going on. His name is-" he frowned. "Damn, I don't remember. Kurt or Keera- or something."

"Sounds pretty nice." Lars butted in. "But you're telling me they don't..." Demetrio shook his head.

"Apparently K- what's-his-name, is kind of weird about doing it and our boy is a perfect gentleman. I dunno. Anyway- he's a good guy. You'll probably meet him after the test or something. Maybe if we get out early we can convince him to celebrate a bit." Lars nodded and looked at the clock, suddenly noticing the lack of other students.

"SHIT man! We got 5 minutes!" The two ran through the suddenly empty hall and took their seats. The professor eyed them as Leorio sighed, but they were given their exams.

"1 hour." The professor announced. "Your time starts now."

\------One exam later-------

"That's him?" Lars gawked. "No way." 

The petite blonde stood casually at the end of the hallway, black suit impeccably fitted to the slim frame, large eyes skimming the tome in his hands, pausing to glance at the clock every few minutes.

"Damn, he is cute, and nerdy-" a smile cracked the redhead's face. "He's perfect for Leorio!" 

Demetri elbowed his friend.

"Told you so!" Following in the distant blonde's actions, he glanced at the clock. "There's only a couple minutes left, Leo should be out soon." Lars snapped out of his staring to look as well. 

"Yeah." His eyes drifted once more. "I'm gonna go talk to him." Demetri started.

"What? No, bad idea buddy- there's something you should know-" but Lars was already gone at an easy lope down the hall, ignoring his friend's frantic waving. The brunette sighed, shoving now idle hands into his pocket to fumble his phone out and record the proceedings, slowly heading towards the far end of the hall after the others.

There was no sound, but the visual alone was hilarious.

The tall redhead strode confidently towards the blonde, the latter not looking up until the student startled him out of his book-induced trance, shrinking back slightly as Lars placed a dominating hand over his shoulder to lean closer, crowding the slighter man into the wall. Demetri stifled an anticipatory laugh as his friend began speaking in earnest. He watched a cocky smile cross the redhead's face, watched the previously startled expression harden, watched the blonde's grip tighten on the book, until-

CRACK

Lars stumbled back in shock as the slight male took a step forward, suddenly intimidating despite his smaller form.

Two voices rang out in laughter, the two at the end of the hall turning in surprise. It was Demetri and Leorio, the former turning off his phone as the latter strode forward to formally introduce the pair, Demetri following behind.

"Damn Pika, are you gonna slap all my friends?" Leorio chuckled as the blonde visibly relaxed, his anger all but vanishing.

"Well maybe if your friends weren't quite so vulgar." A teasing note hid in the taunt, a small smile making its way onto the previously stony face. The couple embraced, Leorio lifting the smaller a few inches off the ground in his enthusiasm before they parted, the blonde chastely pecking his cheek one last time.

"Don't worry, man." Demetri whispered to his still-stunned friend. "I got the same thing. Consider yourself lucky that he didn't use the book."

"What are you doing here?" Leorio laughed. "I thought you were working until Monday?"

"I got done early, it is a long weekend after all..." The voice matched the form, a pleasantly accented alto.

Seeing that he was no longer in the line of fire, Lars scrambled to the side, so the group formed a sort of closed shape. The unfamiliar male gave a rather impressive side-eye.

"So, I'm to understand that this is one of your “friends”?" He turned his gray gaze to the tall student beside him. Leorio laughed again, all signs of his earlier stress completely gone.

"Sorry about this one. Kurapika, this is Lars. Lars, Kurapika."

The blonde extended his hand with disdain, slender fingers deceptively strong.

"A pleasure." The words positively dripped sarcasm.

"And you remember Demetri-"

The same extension was made, this time with less annoyance, and with the addition of a small, formal nod.

"Nice to meet you both. You are both studying medicine as well?"

"Yup." Lars answered breezily, completely unfazed, as though there weren't a red mark blooming on his cheek.

"Good luck." He turned to the tallest of the group. "How do you think it went?" 

"Well. Easier than I thought." 

Lars snorted. “Of course you’d say that.”

"I told you, man!” Demitri interrupted. “You worry too much." 

Leorio shook his head. "I worry just the right amount, thank you very much. When do we get results again?"

"The 30th." Demetri answered. "Until then, we are free!"

"Huh."

"Have you given any further thought to our proposal?"

"What proposal?" Kurapika interjected. Ignoring Leorio's protests, Demetri answered.

"That we all go out tonight to celebrate. Have a few drinks, a conversation that DOESN'T involve muscles or nerves, you know." He shrugged. “Out.”

"Come on guys, I told you,"

"Well why not?" The small male asked, allowing a smile to creep into his face. "I think it's a great idea." He gave a look up at his boyfriend. "You need to relax."

The other two laughed in response.

"You hypocrite!" Leorio yelped indignantly. Kurapika shrugged noncommittally, turning his back to the ranting student. 

"Where did you have in mind?"

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Uhhh, Verdant? About, 9?" Lars suggested with a smirk as Leorio raged behind them. "I'll let the others know."

"We'll be there." Kurapika threw in as the group split, taking his sulking partner with him.

"See you then!" Lars threw back. "And Leorio- no suits! Suit down!"

"I will  _ not _ suit down!" Leorio called.

"Nice to meet you Kurapika!" Lars yelled desperately down the hall. Task done, he turned to his friend, still sniggering. "You know, I think I've seen him somewhere before."

"Sure, sure." Demetri flapped a hand at him, already messaging the rest of their group, pausing to open the door as an indignant shout echoed down the empty hall from behind.

"I did not hit Pietro!"

The two students locked gazes before dissolving into laughter and exiting the building.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> I love comments.
> 
> More to come.


End file.
